Filed under: Innovation
As usual, my trip to the annual meeting of the College of Law Practice Management was more than worth it (even considering that Chicago broke an all-time record for single-day rainfall while we were there). Listening to and exchanging ideas with so many thought leaders in law practice management was exhilarating – a full-morning session… Read more »
Filed under: Compensation, New Lawyers
Many law firms’ insistence on treating their newest associates as adversaries continues to baffle me. Law firms know very well that the associates they hire fresh out of law school (or even after a year of articling) are sufficiently unskilled that they don’t merit the salaries they make or the rates they bill. Equally, firms… Read more »
Filed under: Technology
Despite my earlier misgivings, I finally decided to break down and join Twitter. I’ve only been there for a few weeks, but so far, I have to admit it’s both a helpful resource and a fun diversion, and there aren’t too many tools out there that can tick both of those boxes. I’ve been directed… Read more »
Filed under: Management, Talent
At a certain point, a market’s inability to correct an imbalance becomes a competitive advantage for others within that market. In that spirit, allow me to illustrate an imbalance that innovative law practitioners can exploit right now. We’ve all heard and said a great deal about how law firms need to better address the treatment… Read more »
Filed under: Clients, Innovation
There’s repainting, and then there’s renovating. Innovation in the practice of law can take either of these forms, and while there’s nothing wrong with a fresh coat of paint or moving the furniture around, installing new support beams and ripping out the plumbing is a whole other order of commitment to change. As a useful… Read more »
Filed under: Law21
Eight months into this gig, and I’ve finally received my first “five things” meme! Colin Samuels at Infamy or Praise went and tagged me in his recent post to continue this game: “The idea is to post links to five great blogs (other than law blogs) on your blawg and tag five of your favorite… Read more »
Filed under: Billing
Steve Matthews of Stem Legal has a thoughtful post at Slaw that talks about The Economist‘s recent article on the demise of billable hours. As Steve points out, focusing on how a law firm bills its services obscures the more fundamental conversations around value and cost that are needed to frame the process of negotiating… Read more »
Filed under: Compensation, New Lawyers
Dan Hull at What About Clients has stirred the smouldering embers of the associate salary debate with a post suggesting that new lawyers should pay law firms to apprentice with them. It’s a provocative idea, and while I voiced my disagreement with it in a comment there, I do appreciate the frustration he and other… Read more »
Filed under: Purpose
As Patrick J. Lamb of Valorem Law Firm reminds us, change is inevitable once a marketplace has decided to do things differently. In a week in which the American Bar Association not only gave offshoring a passing grade but positively embraced it (Ron Friedmann and Russell Smith contribute their thoughts), and in which the prospect… Read more »
Filed under: Solo & Small Firm
Reading to my three-year-old from her new book Bible Stories for Toddlers last night, I was struck by something about the story of David and Goliath that I hadn’t fully appreciated before. David is often held up as a symbol of bravery in the face of insurmountable odds, as well as the power of divine… Read more »